Tikka Khan

About 4 pages (1,223 words)

Questions on this topic? Just ask!

**General Tikka Khan**

Tenure Order:	7th Chief of the Army Staff
Took Office:	March 1972 – March 1976
Predecessor:	Gen. Gul Hasan
Successor:	Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

Tikka Khan (Urdu: ٹکا خان) (b. 1915 d. March 28, 2002) was Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff from March 1972–March 1976). Khan was born in the village of Jochha Mamdot (Tehsil Kahuta) near Rawalpindi, in 1915 (in what was then British India. He was a graduate of the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, and was commissioned in 1939. He fought in World War II as part of the Indian Army, and was injured on multiple occasions during the fighting. He was in action in numerous battles on both the Burmese and Italian fronts. He was also a prisoner of war for more than two years during the war, before he and his fellow troops escaped. After his return from World War II, Khan was an instructor at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun for some time. During the Partition of India, Major Tikka Khan remained in what is now Pakistan, and became an officer in the Pakistan Army. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1962.

1 1965 war
2 Between the wars
3 1971 Crisis
4 Post retirement
5 Later life and death
6 See also
7 Further reading
8 References
9 External links

1965 war

One of Khan's greatest successes on the battlefield came in the spring of 1965, during the series of clashes between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch. By most accounts, the Pakistani forces performed very well on the battlefield; this led to a very high level of confidence among Pakistani Army commanders. General Tikka Khan was at the Sialkot front during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, and successfully defended the city from an Indian attack, during the epic Battle of Chawinda, halting and then pushing back the Indians. Due to these performances, General Tikka became a hero to the Pakistani people, having the image of being an extremely tough commander and a loyal soldier who strictly followed the army chain of command.

Between the wars

General Tikka was the corps commander of Lahore during the late 1960s, during which time he earned a reputation of being a tough administrator and strict disciplinarian. Lahore's Fortess Stadium was constructed under General Tikka Khan's tenure as corps commander. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1969.

1971 Crisis

The 1970 elections in East Pakistan and West Pakistan resulted in a situation where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League won most of the seats (160 out of 300) whereas Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 81 seats. In the crisis that followed he was sent out by General Yahya Khan of Pakistan to put down unrest swelling in East Pakistan. He is referred to as the "Butcher of Bengal" by Bangladeshis. He was one of the leading men responsible for the 1971 Genocide in East Pakistan(now Bangladesh).

Post retirement

Tikka Khan’s tenure ended in March 1976, and he was later appointed Defence Minister by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's July 1977 coup led to the arrest of both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan. Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan emerged as one of the leaders of the [[Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), becoming its Secretary General, during a time when many party stalwarts abandoned it. General Tikka was imprisoned numerous times for his political activities during the late 1970s and 1980s, until Zia-ul-Haq died in August 1988 in an airplane explosion over Bahawalpur. General Tikka Khan was appointed the Governor of Pakistan’s largest province, the Punjab, in December 1988. His tenure as the Governor was cut short by the dismissal of the Benazir government in August 1990, after which he retired from active politics. During his tenure as Chief he directly influenced an entire generation of military personnel, imbuing in them qualities of professionalism and military duty.

Later life and death

General Tikka Khan died on March 28, 2002 after several years of illness. He received a state burial with full military honors and his funeral was attended by thousands of people, including the entire top brass of the Pakistan Army. In a message to the General's son, Col. Khalid M. Khan, Benazir Bhutto, who had spent many years campaigning with the General, remembered him as a person who, "rose to the highest offices of this country due to his hard work and respect for the rule of law."